


Not a true goodbye, not a proper hello

by IvvyQueen



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cigarettes, F/M, Slight fluff, meeting again after a long time, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24566722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvvyQueen/pseuds/IvvyQueen
Summary: Annie comes back to the States after having moved away to Europe, and just so happens to find Eren again, during what was meant to be a forgettable night, in a forgettable bar.
Relationships: Annie Leonhart/Eren Yeager
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Not a true goodbye, not a proper hello

_Goddamn it- I can’t believe this._

She hated it.

His dumb little smirk, his seemingly newfound, though quiet, confidence; his little stubble, his long, gorgeous hair.

Eren had grown, _a lot_ , far more than she thought he would.

 _God, how old were we? Sixteen?_ She reached for her glass and downed the rest, liquor running down and burning her throat. _We were at that dumb party at Jean’s house…_

She remembers still, the warmth of his hug out of his then-skinny arms, his sigh against her ear as they said their farewells. Not even twelve hours later she was to take off in a plane, destiny to Russia, and the best idea for a place to say goodbye was a party everyone snuck off to.

_So stupid but, it’s not like anyone would’ve gone that early for me anyway. Five-fucking-am, out of all hours for a flight…_

At the end it didn’t matter at all; he was there, sitting across from her seat, in that nowhere bar, having a drink with who seemed to be a couple of college buddies and far from alone.

 _And what the fuck am I doing?_ she asked herself, downing the last of her drink and reaching for her wallet. _Staring at him like an idiot. I’m twenty now, isn’t this some high school bullshit?_

And yet, there she was, glancing every so often through the corner of her eye. He’d matured, in every good sense of the word, and she liked it.

She liked _him_ still.

A sigh escaped her lips, watching the bartender take the glass away once she paid. _Maybe I could approach him or… no, better not_ , her eyes traced down, shaking her head in the slightest.

She didn’t want to interrupt him and his friends, he was having such a good time and they hadn’t seen each other in five years, give or take. For all she knew, she was just a strange face to him now; there was no reason to hope or think she’d be anything else.

_I should just leave before this actually gets to me. Gonna have to call an Uber though._

There weren’t many people in there, even though it was Friday. Pleasantly surprised to see one rang right away, even though it was still very far, Annie stood up and walked towards the exit

She then, however, caught a glimpse of Eren patting the table and moving his chair back.

‘‘Right, I’ll see ya’ guys on Monday.’’

_Oh, fuck._

He was heading towards the door as well, but she couldn’t scurry away without making herself noticed.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck._

Though every bone of her body told her to run for it, he was getting closer and she wasn’t moving fast enough, no way she’d sprint now.

_He’s gonna notice me, he’s gonna see me, shit, fuck-_

‘‘Oh, sorry,’’ his hand reached over and opened the door for her, ‘‘you go first.’’

Annie could feel her throat run dry, but it’d be rude to not thank him at least.

_It’s not like he’ll recognize me, right?_

‘‘Thanks.’’

‘‘No probl-’’

She caught his stare, the same captivating turquoise she remembered, looking right at her. He remembered, he clearly did so, otherwise his mouth would not be hanging open in the slightest.

‘‘Annie?’’ There was an odd kind of relief in his voice, one she couldn’t understand why it’d be there in the first place, even as the corner of his lips curved upwards. ‘‘Is it really you?’’

‘‘Yeah, it’s me,’’ her own face betrayed her, flashing him a smile as they moved away from the exit, ‘‘never thought I’d see you here, Jaeger.’’

‘‘And neither did I!’’ His arms wrapped around her frame, finding her face smooshed against his chest for a couple of seconds before he pulled away. ‘‘I had no idea you returned to the States, when did you arrive?’’

‘‘Like three months ago? I’m continuing college here so, yeah.’’ She said, moving away and pulling him as well. Last she wanted was to block the entrance, but it’s not like there was anyone pushing to go inside.

‘‘Damn, had I known I’d have gotten in touch with you,’’ his fond smile sent electricity through her veins, and she had to thank the poor street lighting that he couldn’t see her faint blush, ‘‘you’re looking very pretty—I mean, your style and all.’’

Her cheeks tainted a richer rose, eyebrows raising in the slightest. ‘‘Ah, really?’’ she asked, fingertips running over the cold metal of her piercings as she moved a couple of strands behind her ear. ‘‘Thank you, you’re not looking bad yourself,’’ she tried to play the cool, calm and collected card, pointing at his hair with a slight jerk of her head.

‘‘Heh, ya think?’’ Eren ran his fingers through it, Annie pondered for an instant if it felt as soft as it looked.

Then she noticed _it_. He was giving her that little smirk and that gentle look again, just like he used to.

‘‘Ugh, you haven’t changed one bit.’’

He didn’t say a word at first, only smiled more. Eren inched closer, wondering if she’ll move away, if their old comfort was gone as he took out a cigarette. ‘‘I missed you, Annie.’’

Her chest tightened, cheeks shaded red. She ran her fingers through her pale blonde locks, trying to hide from his gaze.

‘‘Wish I could’ve gotten to you at the airport, too bad I wasn’t fast enough.’’

Her whole world crashed with his words, eyes snapping wide open. ‘‘You what?’’ she rasped in a quiet tone, her question still audible enough for him to hear.

‘‘Well you can’t blame me for trying to give you a proper goodbye, you were leaving to Russia and, for all I knew, I wouldn’t see you again; the one girl I really liked was leaving and all I did was hug her goodbye at some party, half-drunk on bad whiskey?’’

_Eren…_

She could hear the frustration spilling in his voice and see it in his rising chest. Her neck tickled, wanting to rest her head on his shoulder in hopes to comfort him, but it’d been so, so long.

‘‘Listen I-’’

‘‘Annie- sorry, sorry,’’ he stopped himself, noticing he’d cut her off, ‘‘go ahead.’’

Eren exhaled a puff off his cigarette, a smoky cloud rising- and vanishing -in the air.

‘‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving until the night before…’’ she clutched to her arm, looking away from him, ‘‘I didn’t want to say goodbye to you, or have you looking at me different, all gloomy and… sad. I hated the idea of things just being so weird between us, moving away out of the sudden was already weird and stressful enough, I didn’t want that for us…’’

He couldn’t help his smile, leaning down to look at her; she was struggling with her more tender emotions just like she always did.

‘‘Well, I can understand that, but you know? You could just say you were gonna miss me-’’

‘‘Shut up, Eren.’’ She said and pushed his face away, cheeks as red as they could be, hearing his chuckle turn into a louder laugh.

_God, I’m so screwed._

‘‘C’mooon!’’

‘‘Okay, fine. Maybe I did miss ya a little…’’

‘‘You’re still a terrible liar.’’

She turned to look at him, clearly defeated but smiling, ‘‘and maybe it was more than just a little. Happy now?’’

‘‘Plenty.’’

He put his cigarette out and let silence take over. There weren’t stars in the sky, and the moon behind bar didn’t light up the scenery, but the feeble streetlight sufficed his desire to see her well, to remember every little detail of her. Her face, her body language, everything he could remember. Warm summer memories and endless moonlit talks, it all came back.

Her head tilted up, the roar of wheels on asphalt coming closer, though still faint. His heart ached, just a little, knowing the even-better-than-drinks night was close to an end.

‘‘Shit, that’s my Uber,’’ she turned towards him rather abruptly, catching the brunet with his guard down, ‘‘c’mon hurry, give me your phone.’’

‘‘Uhh, sure?’’ he said and reached for his jacket’s pocket, handing it over. ‘‘What gives?’’

‘‘I’m giving you my new number, idiot. You know, if you still wanna reconnect or something...’’ the last words came out in almost a mumble, handing his phone back once she’d made sure her number, name and all were saved.

He tucked it away and quickly pulled Annie into a tight hug. Her eyes shot wide open, but Lord knows how much she needed it, getting on her tiptoes to properly return the hug as the car pulled up behind her.

‘‘I’ll make sure to text you, alright?’’

‘‘You better do. You were never the best at remembering things.’’ She jested and nudged his side.

‘‘Heh, don’t worry, I won’t forget,’’ he reached behind her and opened the car’s door, ‘‘good night, Annie.’’

‘‘G-good night, Eren.’’

When he let go and she sat inside, waving at him from the window seat, she felt the ghost of when his hands rested, for just a second, haunting on her waist.

Annie did not dare to glance at him for too long, afraid she’d miss his eyes even more; Eren couldn’t walk away until the car disappeared from his sight, hating that her presence was fading with it.

A sharp breath exhaled, she fixed herself back into the seat, putting on her earphones and zoning out with the music that played on the phone. The smile on her face never fading, never leaving, until her cheeks began to ache and she saw the shape of her apartment complex in the distance.

And he waited until he’d arrived home, to smile down at his phone, reading over the digits and her name in his contact list, clicking on the ‘new chat’ button.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a piece of fanart done by dirtydoodles-s @ tumblr // sucubuss_art @ twitter! You can find it here: https://dirtydoodles-s.tumblr.com/post/619882753890140160/ereannie-au-t-w-i-t-t-e-r-sucubussart
> 
> **I do not own the rights to SNK nor any of the characters here mentioned. This is a work of fiction for fun.**


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